Coins Hold Strong While Bullion Lags
Due to recent decreases in the spot price of gold, silver and platinum, there has been a decline in prices and a subsequent slowdown in sales of bullion and bullion-impacted…
Due to recent decreases in the spot price of gold, silver and platinum, there has been a decline in prices and a subsequent slowdown in sales of bullion and bullion-impacted coins. The spot price decline is due to bond yield increases that have responded inversely to the value of these metals. This is only one coin market segment. All others continue to show promise.
The U.S. Mint reported that the best-selling coins through the week ending Aug. 13 were the 2023-S proof Morgan and Peace silver dollars. The Mint also sold 8,842 of its recently released 2023-W $100 American Liberty gold coins, this representing 70.7 percent of the total number authorized. It will be interesting to see how this coin performs in the secondary market.
Business strike coinage production slowed for the second straight month in July but continued to exceed 1 billion coins total for the seventh straight month. It now costs the Mint 2.72 cents to strike and distribute each 1-cent coin. Regardless, this denomination is ordered by the Federal Reserve more than any other denomination. July’s 457.6 million cents represented 40.2 percent of all business strike coins for the month.
What’s out there to collect continues to expand, with Professional Coin Grading Service now servicing elongated coins that are cataloged in Yesterday’s Elongates, the authority on the subject. Collectibles in general continue to prove they have become an asset class. Due to inflation and high interest rates, there have been recent situations in which serious collectors have sold off some coins to raise capital, but these incidents appear to be isolated.
Overall, the market for coins – be they scarce to rare, collectible yet somewhat available, or new made-for-collector issues – continues to show strength.
